On April 29, Supervisor Don Knabe, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors and Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) held a press conference on human sex trafficking
at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Human sex trafficking has become
a major issue for counties across the nation. According to NACo’s recentsurveyon sex trafficking, 48 percent of large counties with populations greater than
250,000 consider sex trafficking to be a major issue in their county.

Rep. Poe, along with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), have introduced
the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (H.R.
3530) last November. This bill, which currently has 100 co-sponsors, would
create a victim-centered child human trafficking program in the U.S. Department
of Justice. State, county and city
governments would be eligible to apply for the block grants through this
program, which would be funded by fines imposed on individuals convicted of
human trafficking, sexual abuse and related crimes. The grants could be used
for a variety of functions, including:

​Specialized training for state, county and citygovernment agencies such as law enforcement,
first responders, juvenile justice personnel and child welfare and health care
officials

Assisting in the development of state and local laws to prohibit,
investigate and prosecute acts of human trafficking; and

Implementing and providing education on safe harbor laws aimed at
preventing the criminalization and prosecution of child sex trafficking victims
for prostitution offenses

NACo has been involved in discussions on human trafficking
issues and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security at the 2013 NACo Annual Conference. NACo has also adopted a
policy resolution in support of safe harbor laws aimed at protecting victims of
child sex trafficking.